Population explosion is a problem which is faced by the country at an alarming state. The way at which the population of the country is increasing is a cause of concern and so me of the causes of population explosion are:
High birth rate which is caused by:
Universal marriage system where everyone necessarily needs to get married in the country.
Early marriage where the average age of marriage is extremely low as compared to other countries of the world.
Illiteracy is a problem which is facing the country and the low literacy rates lead to traditional, superstitious and ignorant population.
Poverty is another issue which faces the country and needs to be solved. Poor people are illiterate and see a child as a "gift of God" which indirectly leads to population explosion.
Tropical climate of the country leads to girls and boys attaining puberty at an early age which is also one of the reasons for a huge population.
The joint family system also leads to a division of socio-economic responsibilities among everyone in the family which leads to
Women are given a low status in the society and are seen as a person for cooking and begetting and are not free to speak up for their rights.
Along with this the decreasing death rate is also one of the reasons for population explosion.
India’s population has already crossed the billion marks. Thus, the country having only on 2.4 per cent of globe’s area has come to hold 16 per cent of globe’s human beings. Its current annual increase at 16 million is the highest in the world. Soon we may achieve the dubious distinction of becoming the most populous country in the world. The debate about population explosion in India is now over half a century old. It acquired a new perspective when the 2000 National Population Policy (NPP) was drafted. There was a marked shift from the target-oriented approach of the 70′s and 80′s to the one that envisioned the ‘development is the best pill’ outlook. The demographics experts, women’s groups, health organisations, social activists and academicians were able to convince the policymakers that in order to achieve the socio- demographic goals of the reduction of inequalities, provision of education, services and creation of awareness were to be taken on a priority. The main causes of big size and high growth of population can be broadly categorised into social and economic causes which are as below:
(i) Marriage is almost inevitable among men and women;
(ii) Motherhood is nearly universal among married women;
(iii) The custom of early marriage followed since many centuries has facilitated a wider range of reproductive period; (iv) The Net Production Rate (NPR) is greater than one, which means that women replace themselves by giving birth to more than one daughter which leads to constant rise in birth rate; (v) Wide¬spread illiteracy among people, especially woman is also a major contributor. It has been proved that there is a direct relation between illiteracy and fertility; (vi) Superstitious beliefs and myths that a male child is a must for salvation, social security and continuation of the family tree; and (vii) Misconceptions that the use of birth control measures lead to diseases, defects or general weakness. The economic causes include (i) Children are considered to be an asset not a liability by the poor who look at them as source of income; (ii) Statistics also prove that the cost benefit ratio for a child is favourable to the poor; (iii) Lack of proper medical facilities and high mortality rate of infant to want more children; and (iv) There is also total lack of economic security for widows and elderly people which makes people go for children as economic security. There are other reasons which cannot be classified as either social or economic reasons like lack of proper family planning techniques and facilities, high birth rate and low death rate. Overpopulation has far-reaching consequences on...